Last year, NASA's Curiosity Rover confirmed something discovered by multiple previous Martian landers: the surface of the red planet is full of reactive chlorinated hydrocarbons known as perchlorates. That's great news for the search for life on Mars, but it could be a disaster for any new life hoping to travel there. »6/16/13 4:02pm 6/16/13 4:02pm

Mutant haute couture tends to begin and end with leather jackets, pouches, not-battlefield-worthy corsets, and blue-and-yellow school uniforms that leave nothing to the imagination. »11/06/11 11:55am 11/06/11 11:55am

From 1974-1975, Marvel Comics founder Martin Goodman's Atlas Comics attracted major talents like Steve Ditko and Neal Adams, created dozens of original characters, and promptly disappeared. Now, Goodman's grandson Jason is resurrecting Atlas in time for the New York Comic-Con. »9/14/10 2:40pm 9/14/10 2:40pm

NASA's Viking probes were colossally disappointing for those looking for life on Mars - not only were there no signs of life, we didn't even find its essential building blocks. Or maybe we just didn't know what to look for. »9/05/10 9:50am 9/05/10 9:50am

Astro City writer Kurt Busiek shares a genuine piece of comic history at his blog: the original notes for the story that became the return of X-Men's Jean Grey, unseen even by the people who actually wrote the story. [Busiek.com] »2/08/10 3:39pm 2/08/10 3:39pm

Superheroes can escape almost any trap... except for 50 years' worth of backstory that's dated, self-contradictory or gets in the way of a story. So what do you do? Reach for the retcon! Here are 15 examples of retcon fail. »11/17/09 8:40am 11/17/09 8:40am

X2 screenwriter Michael Dougherty didn't get a crack at the third X-Men script, but he and Bryan Singer did kick around some ideas for a Phoenix-centric movie. He shares his different take on Rogue and the end of Jean Grey. »11/09/09 10:30am 11/09/09 10:30am

Death really isn't the end in science fiction... It just depends on whether or not it can be written around later. Here are some of our favorite NotDeaths that prove that the Grim Reaper should really up his game. »11/08/09 12:00pm 11/08/09 12:00pm

Five months ago, it
landed on the Martian surface »11/01/08 1:00pm 11/01/08 1:00pm — and into our hearts. It gave us soil analysis data, , and even . Now, with its power deteriorating, its sunlight exposure shrinking, and Martian temperatures dropping to almost -100°C, the Phoenix lander's time may be up. Project manager Barry Goldstein admitted…

The Phoenix Lander, our favorite robot chemistry lab on Mars, has successfully cooked up some soil in its oven to see if water evaporates from it when heated. So far, no dice. Though the Martian rovers Opportunity and Spirit have found evidence of evaporated water at the equator of the planet, Phoenix hasn't yet… »6/17/08 2:26pm 6/17/08 2:26pm

The space blogosphere is rightfully abuzz over some jaw-dropping images the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's HiRISE camera has taken of the Phoenix Lander parachuting down to Mars (pictured) and then resting safely on the Martian surface along with its parachute and heat shield nearby (below). »5/28/08 2:00pm 5/28/08 2:00pm

What happened to Polar Lander, the last Mars rover that NASA tried to land in the Martian polar region, where it hopes that the Phoenix rover will touch down on May 25? The mysterious fate of the lander that simply disappeared moments before reaching Mars has been the subject of both scientific and UFO-logy debates.… »5/09/08 3:26pm 5/09/08 3:26pm